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EBR Public Defender's office says proposed budget cuts could be detrimental to their department
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BATON ROUGE— The East Baton Rouge Public Defender's office warned that Mayor-President Sid Edwards' proposed budget cuts could severely reduce staff, threatening the agency’s ability to serve the community.
Chief Deputy Defender Kyla Romanach said the agency is already short-staffed, but its services are essential to the parish.
“No one wants a public defender until they need a public defender. When you need a public defender, you need a public defender that’s adequately resourced," Romanach said.
After Edwards announced his proposed budget cuts to city-parish departments, Romanach said she initially thought she would get a fair cut along with other agencies, until she actually took a look at the budget.
"We are receiving a 38% budget cut. The district attorney's office is receiving an 11% budget cut. I was prepared for a 12% cut, since all agencies had been asked to prepare budgets assuming either a 6% or 12% cut," she said.
This year, the Public Defenders received a little over a million dollars. The department requested more than 1.3 million dollars, but with the proposed cuts, they could potentially see nearly $856,000.
“The vast, vast majority of money that we spend is to hire personnel for legal representation. If our budget is cut, the only cut we can make is on personnel," Romanach said.
Romanach said everyone in the office is dedicated to providing the best and fairest representation possible.
However, if these proposed cuts were to go through, she said, it wouldn't just affect those working, but it would weaken the community’s access to justice.
“Nothing could be more devastating than having your child arrested, and they have to wait months or years to have a public defender because it hasn’t been adequately funded," she said. "You thought you were living in a country that provided you with that use of council."
With a scarce staff, Romanach said not only can it create a backlog in the court system, but it also leaves the district attorney's office limited.
“They can’t prosecute if there aren’t public defenders on the other side. If you give all the money to the DA’s office and none to the public defender's office, the money that you give to the DA’s office is of no use," she said.
At the Wednesday meeting, Edwards announced that if his THRIVE EBR plan doesn't pass, then hundreds of city and parish jobs could be cut.
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